Concentration of Liquid Feed in Hydrocyclone to Reduce Drying Energy Use

Abstract

The use of a hydrocyclone is proposed to concentrate the liquid feed such as slurry or diluted suspension prior to thermal drying. The hydrocyclone of special design, called a CANMET hydrocyclone, allows partial separation of three-phase systems such as fine solids suspended in an oil–water emulsion. Thus, when combined with a dryer, preconcentration of the solid–liquid suspension in a hydrocyclone makes it possible to reduce thermal load to the dryer and therefore to lower energy consumption for water evaporation, which translates into reduced emissions of greenhouse gases. This article presents the design characteristics and operational features of the CANMET hydrocyclone and evaluates drying energy savings in a hybrid system built on this hydrocyclone and a convective dryer.

Keywords:

• Concentration
• Drying
• Energy
• Hydrocyclone
• Separation
• Spouted bed
• Suspension

Notes

% = mass percentage of solid phase; overflow = fatty components; underflow = proteins + solids.